“The backward look behind the assuranceOf recorded history, the backward half-lookOver the shoulder, towards the primitive terror.”

American poet, essayist and playwright

T. S. Eliot was an American poet, essayist and playwright. He was a leading figure in modernist poetry in English and won the 1948 Nobel Prize in Literature. He changed the shape of English-language verse through his style, his handling of structure, and his spare, often bleak tone. He is also known for critical essays that reassessed long-held cultural assumptions.